Reviews :
Jay Sketchin : Awww lol! Wait the fact that Turbo and Berri were inside Vidrix in the picture?
chuckiboo : I didn't even consider that! omg that'd be scary haha
Snake557 : It's all good! Aww, I'm glad you like Libby so much. She's a sweetie.
Burgie : Aww that's sweet. Even Turbo manages to inadvertently thwart said date, tho, LOL
*Chapter 78*
"What a drop, man," Nox mumbled in a spike of nervousness.
With a great deal of caution, he just barely leaned over, raised his eyebrow and peered down the incredible, sixty-four floor drop to Orion City's dark streets. Although Turbo had encompassed his balcony in a tempurature-protectant bubble, Turbo still had erected a balcony warmer. In the calm of the evening, Throttle, Nox and Turbo sat around for drinks and a smoke. Although Turbo was the one to regularly smoke, Throttle and Nox joined in on occasions like such. With Turbo and Throttle lazily couched on Turbo's extraordinarily comfortable, billowy outdoor furniture, Nox finally bugged his nervous eyes and eased deeper into Turbo's sprawl of a massive balcony, so to sit and join his two brothers in watching the stars revolve about the sky.
"Yeah, I try not to think too hard about it," Turbo blurt a hefty chuckle as smoke billowed out of his lungs, a lofty, lovely drape of warmth that began to cloud away in the gentle wind.
"Y'ever throw anything off of the balcony?" Throttle blurt in a soft laugh, Turbo furrowed his eyebrows hard into his skull and gave Throttle a confused grin of delight as Throttle hugged his half-empty beer bottle closer to his chest.
"You okay over there?" Turbo mumbled in tender question, Nox blurt a laugh and plopped down a few feet from Throttle's being, which was now loosely sandwiched between his two brothers.
"I'm fine, just curious, leave me alone," Throttle argued in annoyance, having being now caught slipping into a cute, cheeky, buzzed stupor.
"Berri flicked one of my cigarettes off the balcony, once," Turbo muttered, and although he looked off in whole detest, a bashful smile curled his lips.
"She loves you, dude," Nox bobbed a nod and eased his half-done cigarette to his lips. In the gentle silence of Nox taking a hefty inhale of said cigarette, Turbo was heard grumbling a few incoherent notions of mild disagreeing, though Nox exhaled a cloud of smoke and shot his glowing, golden gaze tight to his older brother, "Why else would she bravely flick a cigarette out of your hand? This shit's terrible for you, twenty four seven."
"Calms me down," Turbo mumbled as he lulled his eyes closed and sagged deeper into his comfortable outdoor couch, all three boys were sagged in lazy hoodies and sweats, a night off of just brother time.
"Speaking of Berri, y'hang out with her recently?" Throttle wondered tenderly; he was used to chatting with Wren and hearing all about how they were in and out of Turbo's home, though for the past few days, he's experienced radio silence on the subject matter. With the way Turbo looked off in mild dismay, Throttle was well aware both him and Nox were now due for an overflow of Turbo's worries.
"No... She's avoiding me," Turbo mumbled sadly, "I guess someone let slip, to her, that Libby and I were previously swap mates. I think she's just upset that I hadn't told her."
"Well... I mean, I guess it's not extremely relevant, is it? It's old news, you and Libby have no chance of desire to even get back together," Nox shrugged, "She's clearly married with two children."
"Ace would kill you," Throttle's deep voice grunted a small laugh, to which Turbo heaved a shaky breath and looked off into Sugar Rush's distance.
"I need to reach out to Berri, I know she's probably just frustrated I didn't say anything sooner," Turbo mumbled softly, his aimless gaze stared down to the cigarette in his hand, hovered over his lap, "I-I... I told her that I previous had a girlfriend, but..."
"Little did she know that said girlfriend is now her sister-in-law," Throttle huffed the smoke of his cigarette, the lovely smell of it all eased off the balcony, past the temperature protectant and into Sugar Rush's frigid wind.
"I probably shouldn't have kept it from her, but..." Turbo narrowed his gaze, shrugged and began to grow irritated, "I-It's not relevant, it doesn't change anything. Libby and I had six months of history and then thirty whole YEARS of separation. I'm an entirely different person, and so is Libby."
"She wants to know your history, it means something to her," Nox shrugged, he gave Turbo a kind smile and, although he was teasing previously, he narrowed his gaze and was glad Turbo caught eyes with him in a string of endearment, "She loves you, dude. I'm not kidding. You can see the love in her eyes. She probably is just a little confused, maybe jealous?"
"Jealous," Turbo rolled his eyes and finally broke from Nox's palpable love, "Jealous of what. She has a super, rockstar boyfriend she can now be with. I really thought we had something going... I-I... I wrote music for that girl."
Throttle raised his eyebrows and softly honed his eyes tight to his little brother; Turbo looked off in dejection, as if any shred of trust he had so bravely lofted Berri's way was now unrightfully crumbled to the wind with one small hiccup. Throttle knew Turbo loved to sing, songwrite and play, all those many years ago, though he felt his heart thud in revival with the hope that Turbo's love for his one true hobby had surfaced, again, and in the face of potential new love. Throttle and Nox knew to tread lightly, so to keep Turbo's trust, here, the reveal of tender, intimate workings of his and Berri's blossoming bud of impending romance had everyone trying to fan their fire.
"You wrote her a song?" Throttle prod lovingly, "That's so sweet of you... You play it for her?"
"Sure did," Turbo assured, he grew grumpy, he was well aware Berri had free will in this wild and crazy game called love, though he felt irritated that he stuck his neck out a little, only to be mildly turned away for another boy with a shinier guitar.
"Well... Certainly Gunner hadn't written her anything," Nox wondered softly.
"Yet," Turbo blurt, the cloud of irritation now began to sap the tower in a negative vibe that no one could climb out of; Nox inhaled a sharp breath and shook his head.
"So, what, you just going to give up? You had sex with Libby five thousand years ago and Berri gets a little upset. So what if she has a silly little date with Gunner on Friday, or anything pertaining to Gunner," Nox blurt in confidence, "What matters is the deep roots you two have established. She's understanding, just... Sit her down and talk to her. She's worth that, isn't she?"
"...She has a date with Gunner?" Turbo wondered as his now nervous, sorrowful gaze stabbed into Nox's, and as all three boys fell silent in a rise of dread, as if Nox and Throttle somehow thought that Turbo had this information, they flinched as Turbo grunted to a stand and shook his head in further irritation, "Great. Just GREAT."
"...I thought he knew," Nox muttered quietly to Throttle, who heaved a hard sigh, covered his forehead with his palm and watched as Turbo strolled away from the couch and to the railing of his balcony.
"It isn't like... A marriage proposal, brother," Throttle assured after a few moments, he finally stood and gently began to join Turbo's positioning near the railing, in which Nox trailed along.
"Dates lead to relationships lead to sex lead to swaps lead to proposals," Turbo rattled of in raspy irritation, he shook his head and eyed both of his brothers in a suspicion amount of hurt and confusion, "I... I don't want to lose her. I don't want to lose my chance. I fear as if I may be too late."
"It's never too late, seriously STOP worrying," Nox blurt in annoyance, he gestured to himself and cocked an eyebrow, "LOOK. I may be younger and silly and naive, but I have experience in this department. You BOTH need to be taking notes."
"What do you suggest Turbo do, then?" Throttle wondered in a snappy tone, though his eyes held tight to Nox's as if he was still genuinely curious.
"Pull away, a little! Be elusive, c'mon, you're the BEST at that!" Nox argued as both Throttle and Turbo held their eyes tight to their youngest brother, "Pull away enough so that she questions just where you went, and why. She'll be crawling right back to you, wanting more of what you have to offer. I KNOW that the night she killed that deleter on the train, she didn't just show up to your loft for a cup of tea and a small pat on the back, Turbo... I KNOW you went above and beyond to make her feel loved and protected."
Turbo raised his eyebrows in gentle surprise and was worried maybe somehow this information got out, though with the way Nox side-eyed his brother, as if to suspiciously question whether he was right or wrong, had Turbo understanding that maybe Nox's mind would work the same way, in the presence of a woman he was trying to court. Nox finally adorned a cheeky, cute smile, raised his eyebrows in understanding and was floored the second Turbo looked down to his feet, as if he had been caught.
"You probably took her inside and swept her away for a whole entire morning of getting lost in the downs, nothing but your embrace," Nox pressed, though he huffed a surprised chuckle the second Turbo nodded and bashfully glanced to both Nox and Throttle.
"I... I don't even remember the last time I had a woman in my arms, like that, for so long," Turbo huffed a cute, bashful chuckle as all three boys lit up, "I-I... I didn't want any of it to end. She just slept and slept and I had to pee so bad, but I didn't even care, I just... Didn't ever want her to leave."
"She's doomed if she thinks she can find our brand of romance anywhere else," Nox stated boldly as he teasingly waggled his eyebrows, "Let her go and have her fun... It's just a date. Pull back, and when she comes back into your den of mystery, she'll wonder just why she ever left. Don't force her back, you have to let her realize your absence, crave your presence and come back all on her own."
"What do you suggest I do? Friday night is going to come and I'm... I'm just going to be up here, feeling terrible," Turbo shook his head in a rise of sorrow and heaved a long, almost fogged sigh, "I-I... I want her to be happy, but... I want her to be happy with me, as well. I'm just too much of a chicken shit to do anything about it."
"Well, you're gunna need to pull yourself up by your bootstraps eventually, but... I don't know, maybe throw a little house party, on Friday night," Nox shrugged with a cute smile, "Invite Wren and Theo, really anyone. Berri's the only one who won't be able to make it. If she catches wind of your little shindig, a fun get together in the one place she loves most, I GUARANTEE she'll be itching for her's and Gunner's date to be over. I can almost promise you she'll be doing anything and everything to get to this tower, dude."
"... You really think that would work?" Turbo furrowed his brow in confusion, "I don't want to be malicious about it."
"It's not malicious," Throttle shrugged, "She's pulled away a little, she doesn't owe you anything... But, the same exact thing goes for you. So, pull away a little. You don't owe her anything, either. You guys aren't committed to each other."
"Yet," Nox raised his finger and gave Turbo a confident, kind smile, to which Turbo couldn't help but look off with a cheeky, irritated smirk.
"...Who should I invite?" Turbo muttered daringly as he shot Nox and Throttle a look of gentle confidence.
"Well we're for sure inviting Wren," Nox grunted in Throttle's direction, though he furrowed his brow as if he was about to attempt to fool absolutely no one. Nox slumped his arm and hand to his side, in irritated defeat, and gave Throttle a look of challenge, "Alright, don't make me give you my match-making advice either, dude. You're not void of this 'pairing up' nonsense."
"For User's sake," Throttle grunted, and although he peered to Turbo for help, Turbo easily lofted him an equally as cheeky grin.
"Yeah, dude, we're all out here to get some, you're really going to slink away into the shadows and now at least ATTEMPT to snag Wren while you can?" Turbo mumbled, and it was here did Throttle's face very clearly turn hot red, "You're caught. My house party is the time to make it happen."
"I don't know what you guys want from me," Throttle mumbled in annoyed disdain, he shook his head and shot both boys a bashfully irritated smile; they both bugged their eyes and blurt out into laughter.
"TO GET WITH WREN," The both of them staggered in hard laughter, which had Throttle easily tearing from the two and sauntering back into Turbo's adode; both Nox and Turbo eagerly tore after him with hard bouts of laughter.
"I don't know how that's going to be possible, but I guess I can... Just hang out near him, or something," Throttle staggered in irritation as all three boys came inside, once and for all, though Nox sharply utilized his and Koko's glitching abilities, jumped a handful of steps before Throttle and stopped him dead in his tracks, at Turbo's closest kitchen island.
"Stand near him, awkwardly say nothing, look stupid, y'know, that MIGHT work!" Nox snapped his fingers sarcastically as his berry-crimson honeycomb coding swarmed his legs and feet. He crossed his arms, looked off and eased a gentle shrug, "Orrr... We can maybe do something about that mop on your head, get you cleaned up, nice shirt and tie, and you can jump into moving forward with Wren. I know that's what you want, right?"
"Well... I-I just-"
"Right?" Nox stabbed as he stuck his neck out, bugged his eyes and gave his oldest brother a stern smile.
"Yes, that's what I want," Throttle finally admitted, his tone was shaky, and it was here did Turbo gently rest his hand on Throttle's shoulder.
"Then we'll do everything we can to make that possible," Turbo assured as Throttle lofted his nervous, white gaze to Turbo's, "But... Nox's right. Your hair is getting out of control..."
"I like it, it's easy," Throttle mumbled in annoyance, he tucked his longer, jet-black hair behind his ears and furrowed his brow in irritation, "Y-You guys don't like it?"
"It's not that we don't like it, just... You'd look so much sharper with a clean cut," Turbo encouraged, "You two were blessed with straight, cooperative hair. Mine's wavy and does whatever the crap it wants, if it gets too shaggy."
"Yeah, and with such a stark black color?" Nox said to Throttle as he waggled his eyebrows and gently pulled out his phone; he began thumbing a message, to who, neither Turbo nor Throttle knew, "We need to get you a nice, clean cut to go with it. Wren won't know what to do with himself, seriously."
"I-I... I don't know where you'd want me to go, for said haircut," Throttle's voice began to shaky, though the look of gentle, boyish excitement hung in his eyes, "I don't want to go into the city, it's just... Sort of embarrassing."
"We don't need to go anywhere for a haircut, we can bring the haircut to us," Nox rushed as he cocked an eyebrow and smiled down to just whoever he was messaging, and although Nox wondered if he should ask for guests over, to Turbo's house first, he eagerly sent out the invite to a girl he knew loved to spruce people up for catching glances, someone he was well aware, through Koko, had an eye for looking sharp, clean and precise, someone with extreme expertise behind everything Wren liked and disliked.
"...Who are you bringing here?" Throttle worried as his face turned beet red, though before Nox could answer, there was a tender knock on Turbo's massive, secretive front door.
All three boys froze, though Nox shot Turbo a cheeky smile and was at least thrilled that Turbo held onto a curious smile, as well. In the scuffle of excitement, only Turbo and Nox rushed his front door, and with the tender slide of said slab of concrete, who was revealed had Throttle's whole entire demeanor just shriveling into horrified apprehension. With a familiar beam of a smile, the tender clasp of her hands and arms behind her back, Penny proudly eased into Turbo's home as both boys eagerly let her inside. Turbo shut his front door, grappled his hair, shot Nox a beaming, curious smile and was prepared to full-on geek out with Nox, behind the scenes. Penny huffed a tender giggle, tucked her gorgeous, dark blonde hair behind her ears and finally shot Throttle a sweet, teasing look of understanding.
"REAL brave of you to be trying to catch Wren's eye, there, Tee," Penny snipped in sassy sweetness, she heaved a gentle sigh, looked about Turbo's place and politely made her way to Turbo's nearest island, in which Turbo and Nox eagerly began to hover about; Throttle only hesitantly began to join the three, the look of whole embarrassment hung on his face, though Penny gave him a sweet, knowing look as she set her small bag down and shook her head, "I'm going to think it's safe to say that this wasn't YOUR idea."
"No, not at all," Throttle huffed bashfully as he tucked his hands into his front pockets and bashfully shelled away, though Penny shook her head and warmly approached him, simply as if she was now prepared to mold clay where she could.
"C'mon, love, stand up taller, take your hands out of your pockets," Penny instructed, as if she was now quickly due to giving Throttle solid posture advice, a stance of confidence he very greatly lacked, and as Penny's much shorter figure came upon Throttle's, both Turbo and Nox thought it hysterical that sweet, short little Penny held a whole entire skyscraper's worth of height over Throttle, when it came to eking confidence and purpose. Penny lovingly eased her hand to Throttle's chest, eased her fingers under his chin and was grateful Throttle was easily a malleable subject, ready to take any and all advice, "Hold your head up, shoulders down... You're due to trying to wrangle in one of the most confident, sassiest dudes I know. The sass didn't stop with mom, didn't stop with me, doesn't stop with him. If you want to win Wren over, y'gotta sort of play his game right back at him."
"I'm not nearly as witty or quick as Wren," Throttle staggered bashfully, and although he was now put in an odd situation, he felt solace in the fact that Wren's big sister was very quick to come to Throttle's aid.
"You'd balance him nicely," Penny eased with a loving smile, though the excitement and sass, in her eyes, was extremely apparent, "Nox told me you're due a haircut, and... I may be no cosmetologist, but... I like to think I know what I'm doing."
"Tessa told me that her hair cut is the way it is because of you," Turbo wondered gently, to which Penny proudly nodded.
"The first go was not pretty, and happened on accident!" Penny assured with a giggle, her kind eyes eased up to Turbo's, "But, ever since, she comes to me for clean ups."
"She looks sharp, too," Nox affirmed in Throttle's direction, to which he bobbed a gentle nod of agreeing, "You're in good hands..."
"Your house is lovely, by the way," Penny eased to Turbo in politeness, she ogled the view from Turbo's living room and shook her head, "Now I know why Blue doesn't ever want to leave."
"Speaking of Blue... We're having a house party on Friday, and she's not invited," Nox stabbed with a hard laugh, which cued everyone into solid laughter. Penny furrowed her brows in forever confused glee and shook her head as Nox continued on, "She has a date with Gunner, soooo..."
"Holy shit, how did she manage that?" Penny ogled, though it was here did Turbo sadly look down and off to the side. Penny staggered on a few words as Nox grit his teeth and shook his head, "I-I mean... He's so busy, isn't he? He probably like... Lazily penciled her in, or something. She'll surely want to come home as fast as she can, so she can come to said party."
"You and Orph are invited," Nox assured, though Turbo furrowed his eyebrows and shot his younger brother a bewildered smile, as if to wonder just who called the shots in Turbo's home. Nox firmly shook his head, up to his big brother, and knew full well that he was due to overloading everyone with nonsensical advice and notions of progression, "Don't look at me like that, I'm doing EVERYONE favors, here. You will thank me later," He pointed to Throttle and then to Turbo, "YOU will thank me when you have Wren on his knees, and YOU will thank me when you have Berri swan diving into your bed. You'll think of me, and be like, 'oh shit, Nox really had that in the bag'."
"Is that REALLY how you view this situation?" Penny cried laughing, as did everyone else, Nox shrugged and bobbed a nod.
"Hey... Y'gotta just LEAP, you gotta ACT," Nox assured, "It's how I got what I wanted. I'm due to eventually marrying one of Sugar Rush's heiresses. Y'all want to be in that boat? You're gunna take my advice."
"Yes, sir," Turbo muttered through trying desperately not to laugh.
"Alright, so..." Penny quipped with a cute smile, and as she reached into her back, she pulled out a pair of hair scissors, snipped them twice and gave Throttle, Turbo and Nox a cheeky look of delight, "Where should I set up camp?"
